The present invention relates to a communication cable having light-wave conductors and a jacket of high tensile strength, within a care of which and surrounded by the jacket, there is at least one ribbon line in which the light-wave conductors are held fast, extending parallel to each other between two ribbon-shaped supports (Federal Republic of Germany OS 28 15 514).
Light-wave conductors are finished structures of glass fibers which are suitable for the transmitting of light waves without additional treatment. Such light-wave conductors are used in communications engineering as a substitute for the previous customary metal conductors. They have a number of advantages over metal conductors. Light-wave conductors are very wide-band and low in attenuation so that more channels can be transmitted over a conductor with increased distance between repeaters. They can be readily bent and have small diameters so that the cross section of the cable can be reduced. Furthermore, they are not affected by external electric or magnetic fields.
For the use of light-wave conductors for transmission purposes in transmission engineering they must be worked into light-wave conductor cables. In this connection it must been noted that the light-wave conductors are not damaged either during manufacture or upon a transportation or laying of the light-wave conductor cable. Since they are brittle and have only slight extensibility it is necessary to proceed very carefully upon their manufacture. The light-wave conductors must, however, also be arranged in such protected manner in the light-wave conductor cable that their functionality is permanently assured.
In the known light-wave conductor cable according to the aforementioned Federal Republic of Germany OS 28 15 514, the light-wave conductors are combined in a pre-manufacturing stage into ribbon lines. The ribbon-shaped supports present protection for the light-wave conductors upon their further processing. At least one such ribbon line is embedded, in the case of this light-wave conductor cable, within a jacket which is developed as a profiled body with armoring wires. The ribbon line with the light-wave conductors is arranged loosely within a longitudinally extending bore in the profiled body. The ribbon lines used here have only a small number of light-wave conductors. Since only one ribbon line is to be arranged in each borehole of the profiled body, the number of light-wave conductors to be arranged in this known light-wave conductor cable is therefore very limited if the dimensions of the profiled body and thus the dimensions of the light-wave conductor cable are to remain within ordinary limits. The manufacture of this known light-wave conductor cable is furthermore very expensive since the ribbon line with the light-wave conductors must be pulled into the bore in the profiled body. This is possible only for relatively short lengths of cable. Furthermore, no information concerning the development of the ribbon-shaped supports for the ribbon line can be noted from the forgoing publication. These supports are evidently intended to serve only to hold the light-wave conductors together until they are introduced into the bore of the profiled body.